Always
by 47alwayswriting
Summary: Kate realizes that she has made a mistake after Castle walks out. Set right after the Always fight. Spoilers for 4x23 and 5x01
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is a little story I'm writing and I thought I'd share it with you. Might get some other chapters since I've got some ideas, but I'm pretty busy, so it probably won't be up before Christmas. **

**This is set right after the fight in always and Castle has just left Beckett's apartment. Hope you like it.**

_**For the ones who have already read the first two chapters: I discovered some mistakes in the first two chapters so I fixed them, nothing substantial has changed.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything that has to do with it.**

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Suddenly the meaning of his words seep through her stubbornness. He left. He doesn't want to see her die. She can't do this without him next to her. Before she knows it her feet are carrying her out the door, following in his footsteps.

"Castle! Wait!" She calls when she sees him stepping into the elevator. He puts his hand between the doors to stop them from closing.

"What, Kate?" His voice sounds hurt, distant. There are tears in his eyes, as if he can barely hold them back. By seeing the desperate look on her face, he blinks, though. Tears momentarily forgotten. One he hasn't been able to stop runs down his cheek.

"Castle," Kate says softly when she's nearer. She raises a hand to wipe the escaped tear from his face. She doesn't know what to do next. She doesn't want him to leave, but she doesn't know what to do to make him stay.

"I'm sorry." It's weak, but it's a start. Castle stares at her, he doesn't seem to notice that her hand is still on his cheek. Her fingers slowly start to caress his smooth skin, running in small circles. They seem to have forgotten to be half in the elevator until it gives a ping and start to close its doors, only to sense that there's something between them and opening again. Kate drops her hand and takes Castle's.

"Come back inside," she says. Castle can't do much else then oblige, the drastic change in Beckett seems to have rendered him speechless. She leads him back into her apartment and closes the doors softly behind him, never letting go of his hand. It feels good to hold it. She noticed that earlier that day, when she took his hand in the precinct, but this is different. This is more serious.

"You're right." It's out before she knows it and she can't take it back now, not that she wants to, but it was never her intention to tell him that. But it seems like it was the right thing to say, because Castle unfreezes. His eyes regain some of his former sparkle. The blue starts twinkling again and it leaves her breathless.

"Are you serious? Are you willing to stop?"

"Yes, I am."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Kate, I -" he doesn't know what to say but the look he gives her says it all. He loves her. He doesn't want anything to happen to her, but for her to give up the most important thing in her life - her mom's case - maybe it's too much. She deserves justice. She deserves to know who ruined her life, who murdered her mom. He hates that there's no way to find that out now without getting her in danger.

"Castle, it's okay. You're right. I don't want to die for this, there must be another way. We could… I don't know, we'll figure it out." She knows him too well.

"Thank you." He pulls her closer by instinct. He doesn't know what his plan was, maybe to hug her, maybe to just have her closer to him. It never crossed his mind to kiss her, not yet. It seems like Kate Beckett had something else in mind, though, because he's surprised to suddenly find her lips on his. It takes him a second to react, but then he puts his free hand on her back, pulling her even closer to him. He starts to move his lips against hers, lets go of her hand to put his in her neck. He feels her hand come to his shoulder, slowly moving up to his neck and running through his hair.

"Rick," she breathes, it leaves her mouth without permission. She feels a shiver run down Castle's spine and it feels good. "Rick," she says again. He groans, shivering again. He puts his lips against hers again and deepens the kiss.

Her empty stomach is what pulls them apart. She laughs and puts her head on his shoulder. "How 'bout some food first?" he says.

"Sounds good." She lets him go and walks into her kitchen. She pulls open the fridge to see if she has any food left. "I've got some chicken leftover from a couple of nights ago, how does that sound?"

"Great." Castle sounds far away. He's still in the doorway, looking a bit lost.

"Castle," she says, but it doesn't help, he's lost in thought. "Rick." Still no reaction. Kate sighs, walks to him and takes his hand. "Come on," she says when he finally focuses on her. She pulls him over to the couch and gives him a shove to make him sit. Since there's still no real reaction from him, she walks back into the kitchen and puts the chicken in the oven.

While she waits for dinner to be ready she leans against the counter and watches him. He sits were she put him, staring out in space. She wonders what's going on in his head. He's never this quiet, she would like him to be sometimes, but now it unsettles her.

The oven pings and she takes the chicken out, dividing it over two plates. She walks over to Castle on the couch and sits down next to him. "Here, Castle. Eat." He takes the plate, but still isn't with her. She takes a bite, still watching him and not really tasting the food. She rolls her eyes and takes his plate from him again, putting it on the coffee table along with her own. She shifts so she can put her hand against his cheek to turn his head. "Castle, what is it?" she asks.

"Uh - huh? What?" he says, finally getting out of his head.

"Castle, you totally zoned out, what's up?"

"No, nothing."

"Castle," Kate sighs.

"Really nothing's up, just thinking."

"Yeah, I could see that. Anything good?"

"Very," he says with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"Good, now eat," Kate says. Great, so he was just fantasizing - about her - with her right in front of him - with her right in front of him willing to try out some of those fantasies. Yeah, she kissed him, so she's admitting at least to herself that she wants to live some of those fantasies.

"Yes, ma'am." He picks up their plates from the coffee table again and hands her hers. She takes another bite, while he inspects the food.

"What? You don't trust my cooking skills?" she teases.

"Oh, I do, this looks great. I just don't trust your fridge, this smells a bit odd. Kate, when did you make this?"

"Ehm, Monday, I think?" She says it as a question, even though she doesn't doubt she made it on Monday. She's just curious what his angle is.

"And it had been in the fridge since then?"

"Yeah… I don't - oh, shit!" She realises it tastes all wrong, it's gone bad. "Give me your plate." She takes his plate and throws it all away. "Great, so now what? We still need to eat."

"I'll order us some Thai," Castle says, pulling out his phone.

"Fine."

She takes the dirty plates and throws them in the sink. She turns on the tap and starts cleaning. After Castle has made his call and the plates have been cleaned they stare at each other. Neither of them knows what to do. Eventually, Kate snaps out of it and offers him wine.

"Yes, please," he says.

She grabs two glasses and the bottle and walks over to the couch. Castle stands in the middle of the room and just watches her. Kate sits down and looks at him. "Come here, Castle, don't just stand there." He does what she asked and sits down next to her rigidly. Kate puts a hand on his shoulder and pushes him into the cushions. "Castle, stop being awkward," she tells him, putting her hand over his knee.

He smiles. "I'll try." But he seems to relax a bit as she leans back into the cushions. Her hand is still on his knee and he takes it, weaving their fingers together.

"Kate, are you - you didn't - I mean - uhm -" Castle starts, he knows what he wants to ask, but doesn't know how.

Kate chuckles. "You are some writer. What is it, Castle?"

"I - you …" He takes a deep breath. "You kissed me."

"Yes, and you kissed me back, remember?"

He blinks, unable to grasp the change in her. Not thirty minutes ago she accused him of betraying her. "What made you change your mind?"

"You did. You left. I was selfish, realised I couldn't do it without you there," she says. She can't look him in the eye as she tells him this so she looks at their entangled hands as she says, "I don't want to," in a soft voice.

He doesn't say anything and when she finally looks up he's staring at her. His eyes are filled with love, so much love. Her eyes widen. She knows he loves her, that he had been holding it in, but only now she can see some of the extent of his feelings for her. And it doesn't scare her, like it would have a few weeks ago, or even this morning. Now, she feels like she's able to return some of it. It'll take time for her to allow herself to love him the way he loves her, but she knows she will.

She puts her free hand on his cheek and pulls him closer to touch his lips with hers. Before they can deepen the kiss, there's a knock on her door. She pulls away with a sigh and he chuckles. "Food first, remember?"

"Right," she starts to get up, but he stops her, pulls her back onto the couch.

"This one's on me, you paid last time."

She's pretty sure he paid last time too, actually, but doesn't want to make an issue out of it now and lets it go. She hears him open the door and making soft conversation with the delivery boy. Then he's back, carrying a bag that's way too big for just the two of them.

"Castle, did you order for the entire precinct?"

"Funny. You just seemed hungry and I thought I'd - " He doesn't finish his sentence and narrows his eyes at her. "I know what you're doing."

"I'm not doing anything," she plays along.

"Yes, you are, you're trying to push my buttons."

"Is it working?" she teases.

"Don't ruin the déjà vu moment." Déjà vu moment? She raises her eyebrows.

"What the hell are you talking about ?" she asks.

"Nothing," he says quickly.

"Then shut up and come here, I'm hungry."

Castle does as he's told and sits next to her on the couch. Closer then he would have done earlier and he's happy when he feels her lean into him.

"So what did you get us?" she whispers into his ear. He turns his head to find her still so very close. She returns his broad smile easily.

"The usual," he manages, still amazed by her lips so close to his. She sees his eyes flick down from her eyes to her lips and can't help but tease him a bit by bringing her lips even closer to his.

"Oh, Beckett, you're going to be the death of me," he groans before he closes the distance and for a few minutes the food is forgotten.

"Why? I'm not asking you to hold back… Rick," she breathes against his lips after she breaks away. She feels him shiver and she smiles.

Her empty stomach ruins their moment for the second time when it rumbles. He chuckles. "Food, you need to eat."

"Yeah, apparently. There are other things I don't mind doing, though."

"So I've noticed," he says with a smug smile.

"Shut up, Castle," she says as she takes a huge bite out of the container closest to her. She moans when she tastes the food. "So much better than that chicken, what is this?"

"That is mine, actually, the one you never wanted to try even though I told you it was great." She's stubborn like that, she hadn't been able to acknowledge that his choice is better, but now she's already doomed.

"Hmm, you're right, this is delicious," she says as she takes another bite, ignoring his face that gets smugger by the minute. He actually looks adorable and she's very tempted to kiss him again. She's able to stop herself by taking another huge bite.

"Can we at least share?" Castle asks.

"No, I like this and I'm hungry."

"But… you stole my food! Give it back!" he says and he leans forward to snatch he box out of her hands, she sees it coming and holds the box away from him. He leans in further, but still isn't able to reach it. "C'mon, Beckett, I'm hungry too," he whines. While he says it he turns his face to hers, a shocked look crosses his eyes. He's basically draped over her. The container of food temporarily forgotten they stare at each other. She sees a smile cross his lips before she feels them on hers. She gets out a little whimper of surprise before dropping the container to pull him closer by his hair with her now free hand.

The thud of the container on the floor makes Castle move back a little as he glances at the container. "Oh, you're good," he murmurs against her lips.

"Hmm?" She follows his eyes and sees that the box managed to stay upright. Then she feels Castle's hand on her cheek to turn her head back to his.

Before she can say anything he kisses her again and she lets him devour her. Why did she hold back for four years again? When he's kissing her like that it's hard to remember.

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**Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! Look at that! New chapter is up before Christmas!**

**First of all I want to thank you for all your follows and reviews, they are very much appreciated! **

**Second: I realized that Beckett will want to close the case, I didn't really think about that when I started this story :P. I've thought a lot about how I wanted to do this and I've decided that I'll keep as close to the facts as possible. Obviously things happen differently, because events have to fit the story :)**

_**(I added a little part to their conversation in the break room, because I felt that I kind of overlooked the fact that is discussed. I don't want to spoiler for the ones that have read it yet. Anyway third chapter should be up soon.)**_

**Disclaimer: I'm not good enough to own Castle!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

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The next morning Kate wakes to the delicious smell of pancakes. She gets out of bed and puts on an oversized NYPD sweater before she heads out to search for Castle. Rick. She should start calling him Rick.

She finds him in the kitchen flipping the pancakes that woke her up. "Hey," she says as she walks up to him.

"Hey, coffee?" he asks, holding a steaming cup out to her. She accepts it with a kiss. "Hmm, I can get used to that."

"Thanks. Me too," she says with a lazy smile.

"Don't you have to work today? I didn't want to wake you, because we went to sleep pretty late last night, not that I'm complaining, and you looked kind of tired yesterday, but we still have a case to solve."

"Hmm, your pancakes woke me, so technically you woke me," Kate says with a smile, "but yes, I do need to work today. What time is it? I thought I'd go in around seven, you should go home and change first before you come to the precinct."

"It's six so you still have some time, but you go take a shower and I'll have breakfast ready when you get back."

"Good idea." She starts for the bathroom but turns around and says, "Oh, and thank you for letting me sleep a bit longer, I needed it."

"Sure. You look good," he remarks as he puts some of the pancakes on a heated plate and throws a new batch in the pan.

"Thanks," she says with a grin. She feels good too, better than she has felt in ages. She feels free, the heavy feeling that had been on her shoulders ever since she started her mom's investigation has lessened. That doesn't mean she doesn't want to catch her killer, because she does. Maybe even more now she knows Castle - no, Rick - will be with her every step of the way.

She strips down quickly and turns on the shower. It takes a while for it to get to the right temperature, so she ponders on what their next step should be. Maybe she could get a lead out of Castle's mystery guy, find out who he is. She should be able to trace those phone calls.

She washes quickly and returns to _Rick_ who is just pouring her another coffee.

"Hey, your coffee had gone cold, so here's a new one," he greets with a smile.

"Thanks." He earns another kiss for looking after the coffee that she so ungratefully forgot.

"Hmm, you like kissing me, huh?" he teases.

"Well, you're being sweet and I like sweet things," she says as she sits down next to him.

"So do I get another one if you like my pancakes?" he asks with a childish ring to his voice.

"You don't have to ask for another kiss, I don't need a reason to kiss you anymore," she says as she leans in and plants one on his cheek. "Besides, didn't Esposito say that pancakes are an edible way to say '_Thank you so much for last night'_?"

"Only you fell asleep on my shoulder last night before we could do anything," Rick says.

"Really? Weird, I don't remember that," she says with a frown. Honestly last night is a bit of a haze, like she drank too much, only she didn't drink anything else apart from the wine and the three glasses she had weren't nearly enough to get her drunk.

"Yeah, you must've been really tired. Not that I mind, you can fall asleep on my shoulder anytime," he says with a smirk. "You're cute when you're asleep."

"Wait, I woke up in my bed, how did I get there? You didn't-" she breaks off, he didn't carry her, did he? That would be just too embarrassing.

He seems to notice her hesitation and says: "I carried you. Don't worry about it, you're very light. Speaking of, eat your pancakes." In her confusion over where her memories have gone she didn't notice that he had put a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"Thanks," she says quickly as she takes a bite. "You know, you could've woken me up."

"Tried that, you were dead to the world, so I carried you, figured that you'd be more comfortable in your bed."

"Hmm, I bet you were very comfortable too if I fell asleep on you," she says with a smirk that she tries to hide with another bite. "These are amazing, by the way."

"Thanks. I'm told I'm very comfortable, just wanted you to be comfortable today too." He makes a face as he thinks of the times he fell asleep behind his desk, writing.

"Okay, then thank you for taking me to my bed." They eat in silence for a second and Kate lets her mind wander. It seems surreal that Castle is here now, that everything seems so normal. She couldn't have guessed it yesterday morning that she would wake to the smell of delicious pancakes. But she couldn't have guessed yesterday morning that they'd have a massive fight that night either.

"Thank you for protecting me. Even though I still don't like that you didn't tell me about it, I do understand."

Rick stares at her, his eyes prying into hers. "Always," he says in a soft voice as he comes closer. She reaches out to him and puts her hands on his waist.

"Just please, never meet with a shadow in a parking garage again without me - or one of the boys - knowing about it." She looks up at him and tries to put as much love in her eyes as she can. Lets him see the stupid, treacherous tears as she tries to blink them away. She can't bear the thought of losing him.

"Hey," he says as he put a hand on her cheek, "I won't." He pulls her in for a hug and she lets her head rest on his chest, breathing him in. She doesn't believe him, she knows he would do all over again if it means that it will protect her and she loves him for it. She can't stop him from being him, childish, egotistical and irresponsible as he is, he will do anything for the people he loves. But that's part of why she likes him so much.

She moves back but keeps holding on to his hand. She's desperately searching for something lighter to talk about when he asks, "So how are we going to tell everyone?"

Kate chuckles. "Well, I'm not really one for keeping secrets, and I don't think you'd be able to keep it from them very long…"

"Detective, I'm wounded," Rick says in mock horror.

"And I'm not one for PDA either," she continues, deciding to ignore him. "But I don't feel very comfortable with just telling them, it seems a bit weird."

"So what do you suggest? Just act normal and let them draw their own conclusions?"

"Actually, that might be fun," Kate grins, then remembers that they're in a crucial murder investigation. "But not yet, after the case is closed. Maybe then we could warm them up to the idea."

"Deal." Rick gives her a warm smile. "Now, it's getting kind of late, we should get going."

"Yeah, you're right." Kate jumps up, grabs their plates and puts them in the sink, she'll deal with the leftovers later. Rick has another idea though, because he's right behind her and grabs the plates and turns around to put the leftovers in the bin.

"Go work. I'll clean this up, then go home to change and come in as soon as I can," he says as he puts the plates back in the sink.

"You want to do that?"

"I'm already doing it, aren't I? Now go," he says with a little smile.

"Okay, thank you. Don't be long," Kate says as she kisses him goodbye. She went in for a quick one, but Rick pulls her back in by her waist and opens up for her. He slides his tongue into her mouth for a quick but thorough ravishing, leaving her wobbly on her feet as he retreats.

"Now that is a proper goodbye," he says as he pulls her back in for another quick kiss. "That should do it for the rest of the day, or at least 'till lunch. I assume I can't kiss you hello?"

Kate hasn't fully regained her wits and says, "Huh, what? No, you can't…" Then she gives him a wicked smile, "yet."

Rick grins and pecks her lips once again, "Good, now go, I'll be right behind you."

"Fine," Kate sighs and starts for the door, then she seems to remember something, because she turns around again. "Lock up when you leave?"

"Yeah, sure, but I don't have a key."

"Really? I thought you had one made after my old apartment blew up?"

"Yeah," Rick admits sheepishly, " but I don't have it on me now, it's at the loft."

"Okay fine, here," Kate says as she rummages around in her bag until she's found her keys. She throws them over to him and quickly puts on her coat. She can feel his gaze on her as she opens the door and shoots him a grin as she closes it behind her. It feels so weird to leave him behind in her apartment. But she trusts him, so she doesn't really have a problem with it. He'll probably want to be at the precinct as soon as possible, so he won't go snooping around.

The drive to the precinct is quick, since she's ahead of the real morning rush. The homicide floor is already buzzing with busyness when she gets off the elevator. She sits down at her desk and boots her computer. She wants to find out who Castle's guy is, and quickly. While her extremely slow computer takes its time to boot she goes in search for her team. Both Ryan's and Esposito's desks are scattered with files, so she assumes they're in already.

She finds the duo in one of the conference rooms. "Morning boys," she says briskly.

"Morning, Beckett," they say in unison.

"You're cheery this morning," Esposito observes.

Really, is it that obvious? She hasn't even been here for ten seconds and he's already spotted it. "I'm hoping for a break on the case," Kate says quickly. "So what have we got?"

Ryan starts to explain about the video they saw last night. They've managed to identify the man just outside the screen as Cole Maddox. They've tracked him to the Lower East Side.

"Okay, keep tracking him until Castle gets here, then we'll go and get him. He shouldn't be long. Now, Ryan, I need you to track a phone number that called Castle a couple of days ago."

"Why?" Ryan asks puzzled.

"Because the man that called him might have more information about this case," Beckett says without explaining it further. It's not her story to tell.

"On it," Ryan says without questioning it. Beckett nods and returns to her desk where her computer has finally booted. She pulls out her phone and sees that she has a text from Castle:

_Leaving the loft now Xx_

She smiles at the kisses at the end and allows herself to revel over what happened the night before, then shakes herself out of it and returns to her computer.

* * *

Half an hour later, Castle walks in. He obviously put much thought in his outfit, making sure it doesn't resemble in any way to what he wore yesterday.

Beckett gets up and motions that he should follow her into the conference room. "Ryan and Esposito have found the guy in video, tracked him to the Lower East Side," she explains to him. "Ryan, did his location change?"

"Nope, still the same. What's the plan?" Ryan replies.

"Castle, Espo and I will go get him. You keep an eye on him and let us know if he moves," Beckett orders. "Now, I'll go inform Gates of our whereabouts." The stupid rule that they should call it in when they're going anywhere for a case is still intact. Kate always has to hide a smile when she thinks back to the day she was cuffed to Castle. She still prides herself to have survived that day without killing or kissing Castle. Of course, the kissing thing is now irrelevant.

Gates nods absentmindedly when Beckett sticks her head around the corner of her captain's office to tell her where they're going.

"Beckett? Can I talk to you for a sec?" Castle says as she walks to her desk.

"Break room," Beckett mutters and she changes course. She can feel Castle at her back, he's too close. Or has he always been this close and is she only noticing it now?

Castle closes the door behind him when they reach the break room. Beckett moves to casually lean against the counter, next to his espresso machine. She's glad to see that Castle keeps his distance. The door may be closed, but the blinds aren't drawn.

"Going after this guy isn't backing off like we discussed yesterday," he starts carefully.

"I know, Rick, but if we don't go after him now, he'll disappear again and next time it might be harder to find him," Kate says, her eyes pleading. She knows that going after Maddox now means that they're one step closer to being free from this. "I promise you, if we get him, it's over. If we get him, we have the guy who shot me. He might talk… He might tell me who killed my mother, if he does… I don't know what I'll do, but I don't think he will. So after we catch him, we'll probably hit a wall. I promise you that I won't go and try to find a way around it."

"Okay," Rick says with a sad smile. "Of course you have to go after him, I wouldn't have it any other way. Just be careful, please." He doesn't have to say more, his eyes say it for him.

"I'm always careful," Kate says with a little smile.

"I know," Rick answers and they look at each other for a second. The unnecessary tension dissipates and all that's left is an slightly awkward silence. Kate has the feeling that Rick has something else to say and it only takes him another moment to say it.

"It's Alexis's graduation today," he starts.

"Yeah, I know. We talked about that a couple of days ago, remember? We're doing that double feature. Are we still doing that double feature?"

"Yes, of course. No, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come, actually," he says shyly. He carefully takes a step towards her.

"Really?" Kate hates the way her voice rises an octave and makes a face. Rick doesn't miss it and smirks.

"Yeah, I mean, Alexis would love for you to come," he explains.

"Just Alexis?" Kate teases.

"And me, too," he admits with a grin.

Kate's face breaks open with a beautiful smile, she sees Rick's breath hitch. Kate ponders on how to answer his request. She wants to go to Alexis's graduation, but she also wants to keep working on the case. Her grin falls when she realizes this. She tries to regain her composure, but he has seen it.

"Look, I get it. Decide later what you want to do," he says and he raises his hand as if he wants to reach out to her, but then remembers where they are and drops it again.

"Thank you," Kate says with a grateful smile and she suppresses the urge to kiss him on the cheek. "Let's go."

Castle follows her back out and they find Esposito waiting for them.

"Do you need to get a room or can we finally go get Maddox?" he mocks and deserves a glare from Beckett.

On the ride to the Lower East Side Castle is chattering non-stop to Esposito about some video game. Castle loves the game while Esposito thinks it's crap. Now Castle's trying to convince him otherwise. Beckett stopped listening long ago.

"Hey Beckett, did you get anything on my contact?" Castle asks her as they get out of the car.

"No, not yet, Ryan is running your phone records now. He'll probably have the guy's number when we get back," she says as she looks around the neighbourhood they've tracked Maddox to. "Okay let's see if anyone has seen our guy." They split up, Castle goes into a hotel and Esposito leaves to talk to people on the street. Kate isn't happy with leaving Rick alone, but this way they have more chance of finding him as soon as possible. Beckett walks into the first café she sees. She shows Maddox' picture to the barista, but he doesn't recognize him.

It takes a while, but eventually she gets a call from Esposito that he's found Maddox' hiding place. She calls Castle and tells him to meet them at the address Espo gave her.

Five minutes later they stand in front of a tall building. "The manager says he's here on a one month lease and has agreed to let us in his room," Espo says.

"Okay, let's go, then. Castle, wait here," Beckett says with an authority that Castle doesn't dare to challenge and he nods.

Beckett and Esposito get lead to the apartment by the manager and he lets them in with a spare key. After they've cleared it they get a good look around. The apartment doesn't look very habitated. Aside from some files they immediately recognize as Montgomery's and a laptop on the desk it's pretty empty. Espo starts poring over the laptop while Beckett looks into the files.

"He must've stolen them from his house last week." She opens the photo album and sifts through it until she finds an empty page. At that moment Beckett's cell phone goes off with Castle's ringtone.

"What, Castle?" she snaps.

"Maddox is on his way up," Castle says a little breathless.

"Okay, thanks. Stay where you are, we've got this." She hangs up and takes a deep breath.

"He's coming," she tells Esposito.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	3. Chapter 3

**First I want to say thank you for all the lovely reviews, you guys are amazing.**

**Second I want to apologize for the long waits. I've been really busy with school since before Christmas, but in the upcoming weeks it'll be quieter so I hope I can upload more frequently.**

**Third: Happy 2014! It's a little late, but still :D**

**I've tried to keep it light, but the story didn't listen. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

They tell the manager to stay in the apartment as they close the door and wait for Maddox in the hallway. It doesn't take long for him to show up and when they see him, Beckett says in the calmest voice she can muster, "Cole Maddox?"

If the guy is surprised he doesn't show it. He just stops where he stands and his eyes dart from Beckett to Esposito as if he's calculating his chances, then he turns quickly and makes a run for it. They've expected it and are in pursuit before he's even reached the corner.

He heads for the stairwell and hurries upstairs to the roof. Esposito is right on his heels when he suddenly turns around and takes a swing at Espo's head. Espo dives in a reflex and Maddox misses. Beckett quickly catches up to them as she was only a short distance behind her teammate. She moves to the side to avoid running into Esposito and turns to kick Maddox in the stomach, using her momentum from the turn.

Maddox buckles over on the unexpected impact and Espo quickly walks around him to cuff him. Unfortunately he's not quick enough and gets hit in the head as Maddox head butts him. He staggers a few steps back and almost trips over the next step, but is able to regain his balance before Maddox can come at him again.

Beckett tackles him and they fall hard on the stairs, Maddox fights her off and takes a kick in the head from Esposito. He seems rather annoyed by that than anything else and struggles to get up. In the meantime, Espo has drawn his gun and has taken aim at Maddox.

"Cole Maddox, you are under arrest," he says and he gives the guy another shove to keep him unbalanced. Then Beckett cuffs him and reads him his rights as they walk downstairs.

"Beckett, there's no way that you're going to interrogate him!" Gates says.

"But, Sir –" Beckett tries.

"No, Ryan and Esposito are more than capable of handling this. You are too close to this, it's too personal. I can't allow it!" Beckett sighs, but doesn't try again. She knows that there's no way that Gates will let her into that interrogation room now. She manages not to slam the door behind her and walks to her desk where she pops down in her chair.

"She won't let me interrogate him," she tells Castle with a chagrined face.

"Crap," Castle says and he puts his hand on hers. Kate smiles up at him and squeezes his hand lightly.

"It won't matter. He won't break. Not with me, not with Ryan and Esposito. He's a trained assassin, it's not like he'll just tell us who he works for." Kate feels defeated. It looks like they've reached another dead end in the case. "Now what?"

"How about you do a background check on one Michael Smith while Esposito and I take Maddox' interview?" Ryan says from behind her. Kate jumps and glares at him. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. But I've found Castle's guy while you three were dancing with Maddox."

"So, Michael Smith, huh?" Castle says with a grim smile. "It suits him."

"Okay, I'll check him. Go and at least do everything you can to break Maddox. Just don't tell him we know about this Smith," Beckett says.

"We don't know anything about him, it took me forever to gain access to Castle's phone records. Dude, you have annoyingly good security," Ryan scowls at Castle.

"Hey, I'm a best-selling novelist. I like having good security, even for my phone records."

"Yeah, well, you could at least have warned me," Ryan says as he walks away.

"But then it wouldn't be fun now, would it?" Castle calls after him.

Kate followed the conversation with a little smile on her face. She's not as desperate to interview Maddox now Ryan has found Smith. It doesn't matter anymore if he breaks or not, because Smith has the files that were protecting her. They'll break the case, she can feel it.

"I should go," Castle says silently and if she's not mistaken a little reluctantly.

"Yes, you should, wouldn't want you to be late at Alexis's graduation," Kate says. "Say 'Hi' to her for me?"

"Will do," Castle says as he puts on his coat. "See you tonight?"

"Yeah, text me when you get home."

"Sure. Hey, Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll get the guy," he says with an affirming smile that Kate answers easily. With that Castle turns around and she watches him go. He waves at her as the elevator doors close. She shakes her head and turns to her computer to look Michael Smith up.

Like she expected Ryan and Esposito weren't able to break Maddox. So he went back to his holding cell. Kate doesn't feel the need to confront her shooter like she expected. She's happy that he's behind bars now and that she doesn't have to look over her shoulder every time she goes outside.

Beckett found Smith's address and called his phone number, but he didn't pick up. She decided to visit him tomorrow, since she doesn't want to go without Castle and what harm could one night really do?

Now she's waiting for his text doing paperwork. She wanted to go home first to change, but then she realized that Rick still has her key. So she has no other option than to wait for his text at the precinct. And she figured that she could just as well try to get rid of the enormous pile of paperwork waiting for her.

Just as she finishes her third report her phone buzzes.

_Ready for a double feature? Xxx_

Kate smiles and all but throws the report on the out pile.

_On my way now xx_

She puts on her coat and leaves the almost empty precinct. Ryan and Esposito have left hours ago and the night crew is already in.

Half an hour later the elevator opens its doors to his floor. She quickly walks to his door and knocks. Her hair is damp from the pouring rain outside and she shivers slightly when the door opens and she looks up into his handsome face.

"Hey," she says as she takes a careful step forward.

"Hey, come in," he says and he takes a step back to let her through. "Is it raining outside?" he asks as he eyes her wet coat and jeans.

"Yeah, it is," she answers as she suppresses another shiver.

"Are you cold? Come here," he says and he reaches out to her, pulling her into his chest. She relaxes into him while he rubs his hands up and down her arms to warm her up. Slowly she stops shivering and after a while Rick takes her hand and leads her to his bedroom. She hovers in his doorway as he rummages through a drawer, digging up some sweatpants.

"Here, put these on. You can change in the bathroom, if you… want," he starts, but Kate is already struggling out of her wet jeans. Rick watches her, mesmerized. She smirks at him as she hops on one foot as she pulls on one of the legs. As soon as its off she sighs deeply and hands him the jeans. He takes them and leaves her to put them in the dryer.

She looks good in his sweats. She swims in them, but they're very comfortable. She's just tugging on the string on her waist to keep them from falling from her hips when Rick returns.

"Wow," he says and he comes closer, puts his hand on her hip to pull her into him. "I like you in my sweats."

"Your sweats are very comfortable," Kate murmurs into his shoulder and she presses a little kiss to his shoulder. Then looks up at him and find him looking down at her with such a tender expression in his eyes that she almost has to look away. He smiles down at her and presses a kiss to her lips.

"How did it end with Maddox?" he asks quietly. She shakes her head and he pulls her closer, tighter. "I'm sorry," he says, "and Smith?"

"I found him, but I don't want to talk about that tonight, Rick. Tonight is about us watching a double feature together," Kate says and she pulls back enough so she can look him in the eyes. "We'll deal with it tomorrow."

"Good plan," Rick smiles and he leads her to the living room. "Have you had dinner yet? I made some pasta."

"No, I haven't eaten, yet, so pasta sounds amazing," Kate says and she intertwines her fingers through his as they walk into the kitchen. He kisses her temple as she sits down on one of the stools.

It doesn't take him long to heat some of the leftovers and place them in front of them. "That's the second time you've cooked for me today. Should I just expect it from now on?" she teases.

"Hey, someone's got to make sure you eat. I know you won't. Seriously, Kate, it's almost nine and you haven't even had dinner yet? What have you been doing all that time?"

"I was planning on going home, but _someone_ never returned my keys, so I caught up on some paperwork, after I'd found everything we need to know about Smith."

"Oh, right, totally forgot! Here you go," he says as he fishes her apartment keys out of his pocket.

"Thanks," Kate grins. "How was Alexis's speech?"

"So perfect," he says very proudly and Kate eats as Rick tells her all about his daughters graduation and her apparently perfect speech. "She talked about endings, how it's the ending of all that's familiar to them. It kind of made me think of us. It made me think of how I felt last night, when I left," he finishes quietly. Kate takes his hand in hers and traces a random pattern over it to soothe him.

"You know I won't leave you anytime soon, right?" she says just as quietly. He looks up at her and she sees the vulnerability in his eyes that he hardly ever shows. "Rick, there's no way I could leave you. I came after you yesterday, remember? I can't imagine anymore how my life would be without you in it."

Rick smiles at her and some of the confidence returns to his eyes, "Me, too. You don't know how horrible it was to think that I might never see you again."

Kate doesn't know if he's talking about last night or one of the summers they've spent apart, probably both. It doesn't matter anyway. "Hey, look at me, that won't happen again. I promise you that I won't walk away again, or let you walk away for that matter."

"I never walked away," Rick shoots back and just like that the mood has lifted and they're able to joke again.

"Really? What about when you went to the Hamptons with Gina?" Kate says and she winces when she realizes what she just said. She could slap herself.

"You were with Demming, remember? I asked if you wanted to come first!" He keeps his tone teasing, but Kate can feel that he picked up on her remaining hurt from that day.

"I broke up with Tom that day. I was going to accept your offer, but then your ex-wife showed up," Kate says quietly. She feels like she just admitted something huge. They'd never really talked about that day when he came back in the fall. For her it hurt too much and she guesses that he thought that she had had at least some fun during the summer with Demming.

"Seriously? You wanted to go with me?" Rick says, completely surprised. Kate nods and Rick curses. "So you mean that we could have been like this for years? Why didn't you tell me? Oh, wait, I was with Gina… but I broke up with Gina, why didn't you say anything then?"

"I was with Josh by then and we were doing okay. I thought that you'd moved on, because you went to the Hamptons with Gina, I thought that you'd just asked me you didn't want to be alone and you couldn't think of anyone else."

"Kate, I never just asked you because I couldn't think of anyone else. I wanted you to come with me, because I liked being with you. Because I couldn't think of a better way to spend my summer. I never moved on from you. I went with Gina to protect my heart, but I see now that that was never necessary."

"Never," Kate says and she pulls her towards him and kisses him firmly.

"So how about that double feature?" she says when she lets him go.

"Good idea," he answers with a sigh. "How is it that we always end up in conversations like that when we just want to have fun?"

"Probably because we've never talked about it and now we're catching up on that," Kate says and Rick hums in some sort of agreement. Then he grabs her hand and drags her along towards the couch.

"Sit," he says and he gives her a little push. She pretends to fall back onto the couch and huffs when she feels the soft cushion under her. He chuckles and sits next to her. She immediately leans into him and settles in.

He grabs the remote from the arm rest and selects Netflix. "Wait, you want popcorn?" he asks before he clicks The Killer. Kate hums, popcorn sounds good, but she's also really comfortable nestled up to him. "Okay, I'll be back in a second," Rick says as if he's read her mind, he kisses her temple and gets up.

Kate leans her head back against the backrest and listens to him root through his kitchen. She's surprised by how tired she is. Besides the little scuffle with Maddox, she's done nothing but paperwork and research. She's happy that they're closer to her mother's killer now, but she doesn't know how to go on from here. She promised Rick that she was done when they caught Maddox, but now with the information she found on Smith…

"Hey, Rick?" she says and she finds his answering "Mmm" closer than she expected. "We talk to Smith tomorrow and that's it. The end. I promise," she tells him. She looks up and sees him standing frozen next to the couch.

When he doesn't answer she says, "Rick?"

He's quiet for another moment, then moves again and puts the bowl with popcorn on the table. "You sure?" he asks quietly.

"Yes, I am. You asked me to stop yesterday and I said I would, only today I didn't. I promise you that I'm done when we've talked to Smith," she reassures him.

"Okay," he says and he pulls her into his side. "Okay." He leans forward and takes to bowl from the table and settles it on his lap. Kate snuggles into him and he starts he movie.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


End file.
